Almost one-third of Iowa’s counties are considered “maternal care deserts” in a new report. Stacey Stewart, president of the March of Dimes, says 29 of Iowa’s 99 counties are critically lacking when it comes to health care specifically for pregnancy. Stewart says women in those counties are at greater risk of complications from childbirth, including the death of the mother, the baby, or both.
Nationwide, about 35-percent of all counties fall into the maternal care desert category and Stewart says a majority of them are rural counties.
The March of Dimes is launching #BlanketChange, a social and video advocacy campaign focused on the iconic receiving blankets used to swaddle nearly every newborn baby.
